Russian pig herd growing quickly

The Russian pig population has been growing very
quickly in the last months. At October 1st, there was 16.3 million head, a 10%
rise in comparison to a year ago.

These figures, appearing in offical data, are due to government efforts to
stimulate domestic livestock breeding.

By the end of 2005 however, numbers were still declining.

But Federal State Statistics Service data showed a 1.6% year-on-year rise
in the first three months of 2006 and a 4.7% rise in the first half.

In recent years, Russia's pig and cattle numbers have declined.
Predominantly, rising costs and insufficient state support were to blame,
producers have said.

Aim

Last year, the Russian pork producers' association, Rossvinoprom, and the
Agriculture Ministry drew up a plan aiming to double domestic pork output by 3.3
million tonnes by 2010 by building new farms and enhancing the existing
ones.

The decline in pig numbers slowed to 1.2% last year from 11.1 percent in
2004 as a result.